Gov. Scott Walker countered attacks against his Medicaid policy saying Wisconsin has a "very unique" approach that provides health coverage for all poor people without taking on additional financial risk.

Walker came under fire this week by Democrats who solicited a report from the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau that found the state could have saved $206 million in its current biennial budget and another $315 million in its 2015-17 budget if Walker accepted federal money to expand Medicaid.

If the Republican governor accepted federal money, Brown County would have an additional $21.7 million to insure an estimated 3,367 more adults over four years, according to a separate analysis by liberal group Citizen Action of Wisconsin.

At a campaign stop in De Pere on Tuesday, Walker said the reports are based on hypothetical circumstances and assume the federal government will follow through with the full funding amount.

"The reality is anyone who is depending on the federal government to come through with funding here and across the country is living in an alternate universe, because the federal government is already $17 trillion in the hole," said the governor who is running for re-election.

"They've reneged on Medicaid and other promises in the past. I have every reason to believe, based on their past record, the government will renege yet again."

Democrat Mary Burke, who is challenging Walker in the Nov. 4 general election, supports the expansion. It was the first major policy she promised to undo after announcing her candidacy.

"Rejecting hundreds of millions of our own federal tax dollars means our money goes to cover health care in other states, and leaves us paying more as a state to cover fewer hard-working Wisconsinites," Burke wrote on her website.

According to the fiscal bureau memo, Wisconsin will spend about $815 million on Medicaid benefits by the end of the 2013-15 state budget. If Walker had opted for full expansion with 100 percent federal coverage for new enrollees, the state would spend only $609 million.

Walker used his campaign stop in De Pere primarily to talk about job creation and tax breaks. He spoke to a large crowd of employees at Robinson Metal, Inc., a family-owned metal fabricator that has hired 12 new employees in the past three months.

The governor said the company offers a first-hand example of "Wisconsin's comeback."

"That's what makes our state strong. It's the strength of our manufacturing as well as our agriculture," he said. "We want to make sure more money is invested here rather than down in the state's capital. That's all a part of the comeback we've seen in this state."

The governor also promised to cut taxes every year he's in office, continue a freeze on tuition and invest more money in technical colleges if re-elected.

On his unmet promise to create 250,000 new jobs, Walker said he's not done yet.

"We're not giving up on that goal because we're not giving up on the people of Wisconsin," he said

—arodewal@pressgazettemedia.com and find him on Twitter @AdamGRodewald.